Memories
by Randomwriting98
Summary: With his parents dying when he was one years old and leaving him with the three most despicable people on the planet, Harry Potter never expected to find out much about his family. So when he is called to Professor McGonagall's office as an adult he is surprised to delve through the past to find an old relative. Will he be prepared for the abrupt end to the tale?
1. Chapter 1

"I received your owl Professor, why did you want to see me?"

"Come in Mr Potter."

Harry ventured into the office that he hadn't seen for over 20 years. It had hardly changed since Professor McGonagall had first called it hers 18 years ago. The portrait of Albus Dumbledore waved merrily at him over the headmistress' head, as did many of the other portraits. The painting of Phineas Nigellus said nothing for he saw Harry every day from his portrait at number 12. McGonagall, now being almost 80 years old, had barely changed also. Her previously black hair was now a shade similar to a silver sickle but otherwise she was the same, severe looking witch in the green robes.

She shook his hand, her thin lips stretching a few centimetres before setting back into her trademark deadpan expression. She gestured at the ornate seat on the other side of her desk. Harry sat down, looking at the computer that sat in front of her. It looked very out of place in an office full of whirring magical instruments. McGonagall followed his gaze.

"I don't like it much but the board bought it for me after several months of them insisting that I should get it. I still can't get my head around emailing, what is the point when you can send an owl or a patronus?" she explained.

Harry thought about offering to help her with emailing but he decided against it. _She hasn't asked me to come here to help her with her computer _he told himself.

"I have several reasons for asking you to come here today Mr Potter. I have reasons to believe that there has been some nastiness between your son Albus Severus and Scorpius Malfoy involving the website Facebook. There have been reports of putting nasty comments on each other's profiles and pictures, spreading rumours. However the most serious offense was making events, examples of which being 'The day I kill Scorpius Malfoy' and 'The day I use _levicorpus_ on Potter'."

"I thought that it stopped when you called me in last year about it." Harry said angrily, remembering the shouted conversation that he had had with his son and Ginny yelling at them to shut up because their youngest child, Lily, was sobbing with fright on the stairs. There was bad feeling in the house for three days afterwards and at least a week before Lily could look him in the eye without blanching.

"Well it started up again. Not just the nastiness on Facebook but also fights in the corridor. Scorpius ending up with his ears blown off by James, who got himself involved in his younger brother's fight. It was lucky we could fix his ears back on again and restore normal hearing. If there are any more incidents like that we will have to expel both of your sons!"

Harry said nothing; he had seriously injured Draco with _Sectumsempra_ in the past.

"Draco has managed to persuade his son to leave the argument, so if you could exercise similar restraint over your sons it would be greatly appreciated."

"Lily hasn't been involved, has she?" he asked.

"No, she has been very well behaved, with only one incident with Prudence Stroad, who was attempting to get her in a head-lock. Prudence found herself on the receiving end of one of the best bat-bogey hexes I have seen since her mother Ginevra." She replied almost fondly.

"Of course we had to reprimand her," she continued hastily, "but she only lost 10 points from Gryffindor whereas Prudence lost 50 points from Hufflepuff."

Harry tried not to be surprised at the thought of the usually mild Hufflepuffs attacking a Gryffindor second year.

"Secondly, will your children be going home to number 12 Grimmauld place this Christmas? As usual all of them failed to inform us of what they were going to do. We don't want another scene like the first year James came here."

Harry winced as he remembered his son coming home and a minute later a howler addressed to James being delivered by owl. The nine year old Lily had nightmares for days and hid every time a letter was delivered for ages.

"Yes they will. We're having Christmas dinner with the Weasleys, Longbottoms and Teddy Lupin."

"Ah so Rosie and Hugo Weasley will also be going home at Christmas too?"

Harry laughed; Rosie was in the same year as Albus and Hugo was in Lily's were both just as forgetful when it came to Christmas.

"Yes, them too."

"Okay." McGonagall noted this information down, "Now I have something important to discuss with you."

Harry sat up straighter on his chair, waiting.

"It seems that the late Professor Dumbledore had not finished showing you the wonders of the pensieve. I was sorting through my files yesterday and I came across a letter from him to me. It makes me wonder if he knew he was going to die because it told me to show some memories to you. I have seen these memories myself and they are very interesting. It seems that he tracked down a family member you didn't know you had."

Harry felt depressed when he thought about his old headmaster and how he had indeed known that he was going to die. However, he was pleased to find out more about his family.

"How are they related to me?"

"I'll let you work that out for yourself. I could barely believe it myself but it is all written down in the letter. We will be following their life from when they were eleven until when they were about twenty five."

She got up and walked over to the cabinet in which the pensieve was always held. She took it out and placed it on her desk. There were already silvery memories floating around in it. She tapped the surface with her wand and it became very deep and black, like a corridor.

"Let's go back in time to about seventy years ago." McGonagall whispered in a mystical, ethereal voice like Trelawney's used to be.

Harry leant forward, his nose touching the surface. He felt a tipping sensation and his feet left the floor.


	2. Chapter 2

Harry landed in a very familiar room. With a rush of anger he realised that he was in the tail end of the first memory that Dumbledore had shown him in his sixth year at Hogwarts.

A young boy with a handsome face and dark hair took the hand of an auburn-haired Albus Dumbledore.

"I can speak to snakes. I found out when we've been to the country on trips-they find me, they whisper to me. Is that normal for a wizard?"

"It is unusual," said Dumbledore, after a moment's hesitation, "But not unheard of."

After a curious look at Riddle's young face, Albus Dumbledore broke the handshake.

"Goodbye, Tom. I shall see you at Hogwarts." He left the room and went down the stone steps. He knocked on the office door.

"Farewell Mrs Cole, I hope you enjoyed the gin but I will be off now." She looked at him with a dazed expression, her drunken face pink.

"Bye Mr Dumberton." She hiccoughed and fell off of her seat. Albus withdrew into the drizzling street in London. He paused and took out his deluminator. He clicked it twice, taking out the two nearest street lamps. Then he apparated and Harry was forced to follow.

They arrived in a pretty little village by the name of Goudhurst. Dumbledore briefly looked into the window of a shop called 'Goudhurst News' but decided not to go in. He turned away and walked up the only street. All of the houses were single floored cottages and they all looked the same; pink buildings with blue doors and thatched roofs. They all had flower pots on the window sills and small neat front gardens carpeted with flowers with a gravel path going through the dead centre. Harry couldn't tell them apart.

However Dumbledore walked up the path to one and knocked on the door. A small squat figure opened the door.

"Hello?" the house elf said in a squeaky little voice. She was very fat and wore a little apron-style dress in a horrible baby-blue colour but she looked very happy. _Hermione would be pleased_ thought Harry. She had never given up on SPEW even though the Daily Prophet had taken to abusing it in every way possible.

"Hello, I was looking for Mr and Mrs Bellis. Are they in?"

"Yes sir they have just finished their dinner. Would you like to come in?" Dumbledore stepped inside before the little house elf shut the door. He followed her into the living room where Mr and Mrs Bellis were watching a programme on a small, black and white television.

Mr Bellis turned it off and stood up. He was a short and tubby man with a strip of grey hair stretching around the back of his head whereas Mrs Bellis was tall, very thin and hawk-nosed. Her wispy brown hair was pulled into a severely tight plait that reached the small of her back. Her husband beamed at him while she looked as if she had swallowed a lemon.

"Albus, how lovely to-"

"What are you doing here Dumbledore?" Mrs Bellis rudely cut over the top of her husband.

"I'm here to give your daughter, Miss Lelayna Bellis her Hogwarts letter which she should have received on no less than a hundred occasions but didn't get to read." Replied Dumbledore firmly, with a dangerous glint in his eye.

"Ha!" Mrs Bellis snorted, "Very funny Albus. It's very clear that the girl is a…a" she lowered her voice to a whisper, "A squib. She has no magical abilities whatsoever."

"I think you find that isn't true, madam. Bring her in if you need proof."

"Lelly!" Mrs Bellis shrieked piercingly, "There's someone here to see you!"

A pale face looked around the door frame before the girl entered the room.

She was tall, like her mother, but that was where the similarity between her and her parents ended. She was very light skinned, the colour of milk and she had thick waist length dark red hair. She had an oval shaped face that glowed eerily like a moon in the semi darkness and her features were symmetrical on each side of her face. Her big hazel eyes flickered around the room nervously as she entered the room. She bit her lip as she properly entered the room.

"Why would anybody want to see me?" she asked in a quiet voice. She pulled at loose threads on her pale pink night gown as she surveyed the scene.

"Hello Lelayna, I'm a transfiguration teacher at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and I'm, here to give you your letter." He held it out to her but she looked at it as if it was poisonous.

"But you said I wouldn't get a place there because I was a squib." She addressed her mother, tears gathering in her eyes, "You said I was useless and couldn't do so much as transfigure a thimble."

Harry felt a twinge of sympathy for her; he knew how it felt to be told that you were useless because he got it all the time from the Dursleys.

"I happen to know that you are a witch and when we've trained you up a bit you can do more than transfigure a thimble." Said Dumbledore gently. She barely noticed this because of the tears that were now creating silvery tracks down her cheeks.

"For four years you subjected me to vicious taunts about being a useless, filthy squib and threats to make healers from St Mungos come and take me away! You're supposed to be my mother!" the girl sobbed.

A faint hum filled the room and the lampshade began to unscrew itself from its socket. Dumbledore looked up and so did Lelayna's parents. Suddenly it fell from the ceiling with a huge crash and the bulb smashed into a million pieces. Everybody jumped, including Harry.

"You stupid, clumsy girl! Pick that up right now!" Mrs Bellis shrieked, though looking secretly pleased. Trembling, the girl bent to pick up the shards of glass with her bare hands. She gathered up the pieces up one by one, still sniffing occasionally.

The three adults watched her agonisingly slow progress, Mrs Bellis impassive while Mr Bellis and Dumbledore were sympathetic. When the girl cut herself Dumbledore couldn't take it anymore.

"_Reparo_" he muttered and the lampshade was repaired. With another wave of his wand it floated back up to the ceiling and reattached itself with little bronze arms, which then retreated into the base. Lelayna stood up but remained looking at the floor.

"You will be able to teach the child then?" said her mother, her eyes narrowed challengingly.

"Believe me, we have seen and effectively taught worse." He replied before checking his watch.

"Goodbye Lelayna, I'll be seeing you when term starts on the first of September." He again offered her the letter, which she took.

With a final nod at her parents, Albus Dumbledore turned around briskly and left the room. Harry remained with the Bellises.

He heard the house elf wishing Dumbledore a good evening before hearing the door shut with a dull thud.

"Well then, give me your letter. We need to buy your new school things from Diagon Alley" her mother snatched up the unread letter and stalked out of the room without another word.

Mr Bellis approached his daughter.

"Well done Lelly, _I_ always knew you had it in you." He whispered fondly, gently patting her on the shoulder. He too left the room.

Lelayna stayed where she was, as if fixed on the spot. She eyed the door, her pale-moon face seeming to hang in the near-darkness.

For the first time in the memory she smiled. Then the memory dissolved and Harry was plunged back into darkness.

* * *

**Hi guys, I hope you're enjoying the story so far and thank you for reading it. However I would like to hear your opinions on this story so I can improve it using your tips or just be happy that at least someone is enjoying it. Thank you, Randomwriting98, aka Claire :)**


	3. Chapter 3

Another memory began to take shape in front of Harry almost as soon as the last one left. Even though it was a little outdated Harry immediately recognised Diagon Alley. It was still bustling with excited students and parents. It took him a while to spot Lelayna and her parents.

She had her face pressed very close to a window that advertised 'the Nimbus 1600 racing broomstick-the fastest in the world!'

"We are not buying you a broomstick!" Harry heard Mrs Bellis snap, dragging her daughter away by the wrist, pinching her tighter than was necessary.

"She can dream, can't she?" responded her father nervously. Mrs Bellis snorted before stopping in the middle of the Alley.

"Right, I'm going to buy all your books and potion ingredients so you go with your father to buy an animal, a wand and some robes. Whatever you do don't get a rat or spider!" She forcefully pressed a dusty, red velvet, drawstring pouch into Lelly's small palm.

She walked off and Mr Bellis gave Lelly a warm smile.

"Come on, let's get you a pet first," he gestured towards Eeylops, "What would you like, an owl, a cat or a toad (even though they went out of fashion years ago)?"

"I think I'll get a cat, I've always wanted a cat. Maybe it will destroy those horrible curtains in my room!" Lelly giggled and her father also smiled.

They entered the shop, Harry watching as they examined cage after cage of sleek Tabby, Bengal and Siamese cats.

"Oh!" Lelly stopped suddenly at the end of the row, "Look Dad, isn't he lovely?!" the girl exclaimed.

Harry followed her gaze to see a small, depressed black kitten in a cage. He had mangy black fur, a drooping scrap of a tail and downcast amber eyes. These attributes teamed up with a missing chunk from his left ear made a creature that was anything but lovely.

Mr Bellis bent down and peered into the cage.

"What a sad little chap, shall we cheer him up a bit?" When Lelly nodded enthusiastically, he beckoned to the scrawny wizard behind the counter.

"Can we look at this cat please?" he asked, pointing at the cage.

The scrawny wizard quickly scanned his face as if to see if he was joking. When he has established that Mr Bellis was in fact sincere he took a bunch of keys from behind the counter. The kitten looked equally stunned when the wizard unlocked his cage and took him out. He looked much perkier when he was presented to Lelly sitting on the wizard's hand. He looked positively cute and Harry was sure that if he could the kitten would be smiling.

"Can I hold him?"

"Be my guest."

She took the cat from the wizard and it instantly began purring. When it had crawled up onto her shoulder, perching there, she turned grinning to the wizard.

"How much is he?"

"You can keep him. We've been trying to get rid of him for ages."

The kitten shot him a look of pure malevolence that made Harry almost laugh.

"Thank you." Said Mr Bellis gratefully.

Staying only a minute longer to buy some cat treats, Mr Bellis and his daughter left the shop.

"Come on Gretchen." She murmured to the kitten, which was still perched on her shoulder like a canary, "Will you help me get a wand?"

"Gretchen? Why Gretchen?"

"I don't know. It just came to me. I think it's perfect for him."

A few shops down the Alley Mr Bellis stopped.

"Ah Ollivander's, shall we get your wand now?"

They took a step towards the entrance and almost collided with a small, mousy wizard and his son. As Lelly looked the boy up and down, her mouth fell open in a much undignified way. The boy was massive, not exactly fat but very tall so that he stood double the height of his father. _Hagrid_ realised Harry with a jolt.

"Hullo," Hagrid said cheerfully, his chubby eleven-year-old face breaking into a massive grin, "Wha's yer name? I'm Rubeus Hagrid."

Lelly continued to stare, open-mouthed.

"My Dad says it's rude ter stare." He added equally cheerfully. This snapped Lelly back to the present. She looked very embarrassed.

"Oh! Sorry, sorry. Err… I'm Lelayna Bellis," she stuttered awkwardly, shaking Hagrid's extended hand, "Are you going into the first year too?"

"Yeah! Look, my Dad go' meh a wand" he clumsily pulled a sixteen or seventeen inch wand out of his pocket and almost jabbed Lelly's eye out in his excitement.

"Come on Rube, we have to go!" Hagrid's father called apologetically from halfway up the Alley.

"Sorreh; I go' ter go, I'll see yer on th' train!" Hagrid turned away and caught up with his father in six massive strides.

"Bye!" Lelly called after him uncertainly. He waved before disappearing into the crowd, only his head visible.

Lelly re-joined her father in the dusty old shop.

"Made a new friend?" asked her father but Lelly didn't answer because she was entranced by the giant towering shelves of dusty old boxes.

Soon the younger, black-grey haired Ollivander emerged from the back of the shop. He was scratching his chin, showing a large, healing cut on his hand, the sort that in the Muggle world would need stitches.

"Sorry for keeping you waiting; the last err… person in here was a tricky customer. Accidently smashed a vase… glass everywhere…" he trailed off absent-mindedly.

"Which is your wand hand?" he suddenly snapped at Lelly, who jumped.

"Err… I write with my left…"

"That'll do!" he measured Lelly's arm length and retreated again to behind his counter. Ollivander disappeared between rows of shelves. After a short wait there was a muffled crash and a muttered swear word before he appeared clutching four or five boxes of varying length.

"Haven't had a left-hander in years…" he grumbled to himself, glaring at the girl resentfully.

"Try this one." He thrust the shortest box in her general direction. She took the wand out and inspected it curiously.

"Nine and three quarter inches, birch wood with a core of dragon heartstring." Ollivander muttered, half to Lelly and half to himself.

"Well wave it then!" he snapped to her, as she was still peering at it as if it was a severed hand. Taken aback, she waved it aimlessly and smashed the adjacent window.

"No!" barked Ollivander, snatching back the wand.

"Try this one, ten inches, oak with a phoenix feather core." He continued more kindly upon seeing her mortified expression. Lelly waved that wand but it was also taken back quickly by Ollivander.

Soon they were down to the longest and last wand box. Ollivander was wringing his hands with frustration.

"Try this one, though it will probably be too big for you. Twelve and a quarter inches, mahogany and unicorn hair."

"That's bigger than my wand!" objected Mr Bellis, who was by then also fed up.

However, it soon became evident that this wand was different; Lelly held it easily, like it was an extra appendage. She waved it through the air. Multi-coloured bubbles sprouted from the tip of the wand, bringing a very sweet scent.

"Excellent! That's the wand!" Ollivander clapped once, looking relieved. Gretchen hissed at the bubbled floating gaily in the air above them.

Fifteen galleons changed hands and the Bellises left the shop. As they left the bubbles burst over their heads, lightly showering them with soap suds. Gretchen yowled and scrabbled round to hide in Lelly's hair.

"No baths for you then Gretchen?" The kitten purred his agreement.

Finally they entered Madam Malkin's to get fitted for the plain black and dress robes.

"Watch what you're doing with that pin woman!"

A boy stood on a wooden stall with his back to the door while a short witch flapped around him uselessly with pins.

"Sorry." The poor witch apologised tearfully, causing Lelly to glance towards them.

"Really, there's no need to be quite so rude!" she mumbled to herself, glaring at the back of the boy's silky, black haired head.

_Hear, hear_ agreed Harry silently, amused at how much of a Hermione Granger comment it was.

"I know Lell, but some people are just ruder than what is good for them." Mr Bellis steered her away and towards a blonde witch with curly hair.

When they had bought some plain black robes, turquoise dress robes, a pointed black hat and other uniform requirements, they left the shop and encountered Mrs Bellis in the street.

"Have you got everything?" she asked haughtily but never waited for an answer, she had caught sight of the cat on her daughter's shoulder.

"What's that?"

"He's my kitten Gretchen, isn't he adorable?" Lelly cooed.

"Looks more like a rat to me…" replied Mrs Bellis.

Harry didn't get to hear Lelly's response because the scene dissolved again, indicating the arrival of another memory.

* * *

**Hello it's me again. I hope that you're enjoying this so far. I would really like to hear your opinions (good or bad) on this story so I can improve it or be happy that someone has acknowledged the result of a boring, long car journey. Thank you, Claire :)**


	4. Chapter 4

The next memory came with billowing smoke. Harry now found himself in a very old fashioned King's Cross station. It was still the age of the steam train, the smoke coming from more than one direction.

The light that streamed from the windows was dazzling, cutting through the smoke like a knife cutting through butter. Harry had barely ten seconds of bliss before he heard someone shriek like a banshee.

"Hurry up or we're going to be taking you to Hogwarts in a hearse!"

Harry was just looking to see where the shout had come from when the source ran past him. He followed the Bellises, who were evidently late.

"Where's platform nine and three quarters?" Lelly asked, panting as they sprinted.

"There!" her mother wheezed, pointing at the brick barrier between platforms nine and ten.

"It's a brick wall!"

"Run at it!"

"But…"

"Just do it you brat!"

Lelly looked nervously at the wall and sighed.

"Come on Gretchen."

"Hurry!" screamed Mrs Bellis.

She ran at the wall, Harry in hot pursuit. She winced as she neared it but didn't crash, she ran straight through to the platform.

Smoke streamed from the train like ribbons curling and corkscrewing through the air. The clock read 30 seconds until departure.

Hurriedly she lugged her heavy trunk onto the train. She put it on the nearest carriage before shoving Gretchen on afterwards.

However when she attempted to get on the train began to move. She held onto the door frame and bashed into many waving parents as she was dragged along by the train. It was evident that she was struggling to get a foothold as it travelled faster. Harry, who was already on the train, wanted to help her.

The end of the platform was close and it didn't look as if she was going to get on. Suddenly a big hand reached out and seized the front of her dress, her feet only just leaving the floor before the platform ended.

She was dragged on board and she lay across her trunk, panting.

"Hullo! Tha' was a dramatic entrance."

Lelly looking up to see Hagrid beaming down at her, Gretchen perched on his massive shoulder like a canary.

"Rubeus! Thank you, I thought I wasn't going to get on then."

"Yer nearly didn'," he bent down and helped her up, "Shall we find somewher' ter si'?"

Gretchen sprang from Hagrid's shoulder to Lelly's, as she went to pick up her trunk. Hagrid, however, took it. He carried it as if it was a toy, as well as his own heavy trunk.

They began to scour the carriages for somewhere to sit. They had reached the third carriage without luck when they encountered another lonely soul.

A girl had just knocked on the door of a compartment. She had greasy black hair that hung in limp curtains to her armpits, sallow skin and a hooked nose. Eileen Prince.

"Hello," she said shyly, "Can I sit with you please? My name's Eileen-"

"What is that smell?" a cruel, cold voice asked. The boy took several long, exaggerated sniffs before making a_ pooh_ noise.

"Oh, it's coming from you, can you get out please Eileen?" the boy continued, using her name patronisingly.

Eileen's face crumpled and about two seconds later Lelly shot past Harry towards her. He followed, leaving Hagrid alone. Eileen was shocked when she was joined by a fiery haired, fiery tempered girl, who was at least a head taller than her.

It was no surprise to Harry that it was Tom Riddle sitting in the compartment with a bunch of hapless admirers. Lelly roughly pushed Eileen out of the way so she had the compartment's full attention.

"How dare you?" she yelled shrilly, reminding Harry of her mother, "How bloody dare you? What has put the idea into your twisted, evil little mind that you can just be horrible to this girl? You don't even know her!"

"Neither do you, it seems by the look on old Smelly's face."

"I'd be careful if I were you."

"Why's that then?" Riddle crossed his arms, one dark brow raised challengingly.

"Nobody likes a bullying toe rag. At this rate you will end up with no friends. I'd quit while you're ahead _friend_!" she spat out the word friend like a swear word before slamming the the door on the compartment so hard that dust fell from the ceiling.

Lelly turned to the startled Eileen, who had tapped her on the shoulder.

"You really didn't have to do that but thank you." She smiled shyly, brushing her greasy hair behind her ears.

"Don't worry about it; I had four years' worth of anger to use up. For the record I don't think that you smell. I'm Lelayna, by the way, but I prefer to be called Lelly. This is Rubeus Hagrid." Lelly replied.

"I prefer jus' ter be called Hagrid." Hagrid added.

"I'm Eileen," she said biting her lip, "Can I sit with you?"

"Of course you can; we were looking for a compartment ourselves."

They continued down the length of the train, looking for somewhere to sit. They had almost reached the front of the train when they found a compartment occupied by another girl.

She was plump, spotty and bespectacled with the glummest expression of anyone Harry had ever seen, except one.

"Can we sit here please?"

"Be my guest." The girl said mournfully before letting out a depressed sigh. Her eyes travelled over everyone searchingly, lingering a while on Lelly's red hair and pale face and Hagrid's tall frame.

"I'm Lelly and this is Hagrid and Eileen. What's your name?"

"Nice ter meetcha" Hagrid held out his hand but she ignored it, staring at Lelly.

"I'm Myrtle, disgusting name isn't it?" Myrtle moaned, "Everybody calls me Moaning Myrtle. I don't know why." The others looked as if they might have guessed why by the awkward looks on their faces but they were all too polite to say so.

Soon it began to grow dark in the cabin and the discussion turned to houses.

"Which house do you want to be in?" asked Lelly curiously.

"I want to be in Gryffindor but I'll probably end up in Slytherin." Moped Myrtle tragically, pulling on one of her bunches as she looked out of the window.

"I don' mind; I'm jus' glad tha' I'm comin' ter school ter be hones'" was Hagrid's answer.

"I think I'll be in Slytherin, all my family has been in Slytherin." Eileen said sadly.

"I thought that I would like to be in Gryffindor or Ravenclaw the most. They sound the best in the book…" Harry wanted to laugh; in many ways Lelly was exactly like Hermione.

"Wait! You've already read the book?" Eileen looked embarrassed, "Did you have to read it?"

"No, I just thought it would make some nice holiday reading."

"Nice holiday reading?! It's over a thousand pages long!"

They disputed this for about ten minutes before someone in another compartment disturbed the debate.

"Look it's the great lake!"

Every first year scrambled to the left hand windows and craned their necks to see a dark black glistening ahead of them, the moon reflected on the surface.

"Ooh, my mother said that there was a giant squid that lives in the lake!" Eileen pressed her face against the glass to get a better view.

"And there's the castle." Lelly pointed it out to her friends. It was silhouetted against the moon and hundreds of little yellow lights on it indicated windows.

About two minutes passed and the train stopped a small platform, Hogwarts disappearing behind the trees.

"First years come here!"

Every first year turned around to see a friendly looking, pink -cheeked wizard with sparkling grey eyes and sandy blonde hair. They battled their way through the crowds of older students to reach him. When the last older student filed off of the platform the wizard beamed at the youngest students.

"Welcome to Hogwarts, I'm Professor Kettleburn and I teach Care of Magical Creatures and I'm going to take you students separately up to the castle."

They followed him up a dirt-track through the trees, stumbling over the many rocks and craters that the soft glow of the oil lamp couldn't illuminate. Many people were accidently tripping over others or treading on their toes.

"Oops, _sorry_." Harry heard Lelly say. She had 'accidently' tripped over Riddle's foot when he and his friends attempted to push past her roughly.

They finally reached the end of the forest, where many little four man boats were moored.

Hagrid and his friends went to sit in one when Kettleburn stopped them.

"I think if you all tried to get in the same boat it would capsize." He pointed out quietly. The three girls got in a boat next to Hagrid's when a fourth girl asked to join their boat. Reluctantly they agreed.

When Kettleburn had established that everyone was in a boat, he got in one himself and tapped the bank with his wand. All the little boats set off at once.

When they got to the edge of the lake the relative silence was disturbed by a loud yelp of revulsion.

"Something touched me!" Tom Riddle shuddered, causing the boat the rock, slopping icy water in both sides. The look on Lelly's face was like Christmas had come early.

They moored soon after that in a miniature underground harbour and the first years followed Kettleburn up two flights of stairs to reach the first floor of the castle.

They followed him through the empty corridors of the castle to the great hall. The wonder on every new student's faces reminded Harry of his first time in the great hall. Whispers and eyes of older students followed them as they walked down the centre of the hall. The first years were in awe of the ghosts and the enchanted ceiling of the hall.

They stopped at the front of the hall, where the teachers sat. Kettleburn sat in the only empty seat remaining. In front of the teachers sat a squat wooden stool with a grubby pointed hat perched on the top. The rip at the base of the hat opened, like a mouth, and it began to sing.

"I am the Sorting Hat. I can see inside your soul,

To put you in your rightful house is my only goal.

Does your heart belong to Gryffindor, are you brave and true?

If you're courageous and loyal then this is the house for you.

Are you wise beyond your years and live for reading books?

If so you're the student for whom Rowena Ravenclaw looks.

Have you always been hard-working, patient and fair?

There's a place for you in Hufflepuff, they'll be pleased to have you there.

Do you have ambitions of being someone really great?

Slytherin will be the house to help you seal your fate.

So new students gather round. I hope you liked my song,

Don't worry and don't fear; the Sorting Hat is almost never wrong.

But now I have a warning for students old and new to hear,

There's danger coming to Hogwarts but for now please do not fear.

As serious as it is don't forget that,

I may be wrong, I may be right. In the end I'm just a hat!" With a final flourish the old hat fell silent. Its song was rewarded with a massive cheer and enthusiastic applause. Lelly looked at her new friends, her pale face glowing with excitement.

Very few people noticed the hat's warning. A few of the teachers exchanged worried looks but the atmosphere of the hall was generally buzzing.

A thin, tall witch with grey hair and a smooth oval-shaped face stood up.

"Now, when I call out your name you will put on the hat and sit on the stall to be sorted into your house," she said in a young voice that didn't match her frazzled grey hair, "Adeiran, Toby!"

Toby Adeiran stumbled out of the crowd of first years. He tripped over his too big robes in his haste to get the experience over and done with. This was met with several giggles that were extinguished with a formidable glare from the grey haired witch.

He flopped down on the stall and yanked the hat onto his head. It fell down and obscured his eyes. There was a wait of about thirty seconds before he was announced as the first new Hufflepuff. Adams Abigale, the girl from the boat, was announced as a Ravenclaw and Bell, Amelia was made the newest Slytherin.

"Bellis, Lelayna!"

There were quite a few sniggers at her name but Lelly walked towards the stool with her head held high, her hair rippling like water with every step. She sat on the stool and put on the hat.

"Hmm…" Harry was surprised to hear a small voice say, "There's a great deal of bravery here and a thirst to achieve. But there is a witty and incredibly intelligent mind. Hmmmm…"

"Ravenclaw!" the hat announced for everyone to hear. Lelly jumped lightly off of the stool and headed cheerfully towards the Ravenclaw table. She smiled at her friends as she passed them to sit down next to Abigale Adams. They exchanged congratulatory grins and Lelly's hand was shook by many older students.

Broomfield, Barney was the first Gryffindor. Many others passed then…

"Davison, Myrtle!"

Myrtle sulkily stalked up to the front, muttering mutinously under her breath. The hat placed her in Ravenclaw to the obvious delight of Lelly.

"Hagrid, Rubeus!"

The large boy ran forward excitedly and went to sit on the stool but the wispy witch shook her head slightly. Looking crestfallen, Hagrid remained standing and placed the hat on his head. It sat on his head like a fascinator.

"Gryffindor!" Hagrid shared a sad look with Lelly and Myrtle before sitting at the Gryffindor table.

"Prince, Eileen!"

Eileen sat on the stool, biting her lip and fidgeting.

"Slytherin!"

Eileen gave Lelly an _'I told you so'_ look before going to sit with the jeering Slytherins. She looked like an antelope being surrounded by a pack of starving lions.

The sorting ended with Yaxley, Freya being sorted into Gryffindor. The hat and stool were taken away.

"Welcome to Hogwarts," a man who was clearly Professor Dippet stood up, "I hope that you will all have a very good year. May I tell the new students that the forest on the grounds is out of bounds? Some of the old students could do well with remembering that too. Also exploding dung bombs and fanged Frisbees are added to the list of banned objects. If you are in doubt of what they are then check the notice board outside the caretaker's office. Now, I won't keep you anymore, you must be really hungry."

Food appeared on the tables from nowhere and the memory faded, leaving Harry in darkness, yet again.

* * *

**Hi guys, it's Claire here. Thank you to everybody that have reviewed so far (an extra big thank you going towards annabetheverdeen). Hope you are still enjoying the story. Did you like the Sorting hat song that I have written? Tell me what you thought of it in the reviews or by PM. Bye for now. xxx**


	5. Chapter 5

The charms room materialised around Harry as the next memory came. It was no different to when he had learned in it while he was at Hogwarts. He looked around the circular room, the curved double rows of seats to his left and the teacher's desk to his right.

Suddenly a mid-height witch with mousey hair and pink cheeks walked into the room. She dumped a pile of books onto the table. She eyed the class with stern eyes.

"Shall we start properly?" she said, dissatisfied with what she saw in front of her. The students looked at her blankly and she sighed. She motioned at them to stand up. Slowly and awkwardly they pushed their chairs back in a horrible scraping noise and they stood up.

"Good morning first years!" she spoke firmly.

"Good morning Professor…" the class trailed off, seeming to have no idea who this woman was. _Must be their first lesson_ thought Harry.

"Professor Moroney," she finished for them with exasperation, "you may sit down."

There were more scraping noises as the class sat back on their chairs.

"So, welcome to Charms class. Today we shall be learning one of the easiest of all the known Charms, _Wingardium Leviosa_."

She paused as if to wait for a comment and when nobody bothered to say anything she carried on.

"Firstly, we will be learning the wand movements for this spell. First you need to swish the wand. You always swish from left to right, not right to left. Then you flick it once from the end position of your swish, okay? Now repeat after me; swish and flick!"

There was a chorus of very unenthusiastic swishes and flicks and the class once again fell silent, already bored.

"Very good!" she beamed at them, seeming to ignore their gloomy faces, "Now all you need to do is add the incantation. You say the _Wingardium _on the swish and the _Leviosa _on the flick. Let's try that now; _Wingardium Leviosa_!"

A piece of chalk floated gracefully off of her desk and she began swishing her wand around, making it swoop backwards and forwards. This was evidently a trick designed to make the class laugh however their eyes calmly followed it and nobody said a word or even moved a facial muscle.

Slightly crestfallen, Professor Moroney released the spell and the chalk smashed on the floor.

"Okay…Now, practice it with your friends."

She averted her eyes to the floor and immediately sat behind her desk, looking rather upset.

Harry watched her twiddle her thumbs for a bit when he heard a loud and very familiar voice.

"No! You're pronouncing it wrong; it's pronounced _Wingardium Leviosa_! You _really_ can't expect the spell to work if you aren't pronouncing the incantation properly!" Lelly cried, exasperated.

"How would you pronounce it then?" Abigale asked frostily.

"_Wingardium Levios-__**ar**_, you're saying _Levios-__**uh**_."

"Well if you're so sure Miss Bellis, you wouldn't mind demonstrating to the class." Professor Moroney called from across the room, looking strict.

Lelly flushed almost as red as her hair but took her wand from her inside pocket. She looked around, seemingly for the show-offiest thing that she could use as she overlooked her quill and ink bottle. Eventually she unwound Gretchen from her neck and placed him on the desk. She cleared her throat very loudly.

"_Wingardium Leviosa_" she enunciated, performing the wand movements briskly and precisely.

Gracefully, the startled kitten rose from the table and began hovering about ten feet above their heads.

"Very good Miss Bellis, only next time can you not rub your abilities in your friend's faces."

"Mew" said Gretchen.

The teacher slowly flicked downwards and the terrified kitten landed back on the desk.

"Also can you leave your cat in your common room next time? You are not allowed to bring pets to lessons and much less to use them in spells."

"I'm sorry Professor," Lelly replied quietly, her head dipping in red-faced shame, "It won't happen again."

"I should hope not." The older witch raised an eyebrow and looked away.

There was laughing from the other side of the room and Harry looked towards the source of the noise. Tom Riddle and his friends were impersonating Lelly and laughing uncontrollably.

"I'm so so so so SO sorry Professor. I promise to never-ever speak again!" Avery screwed up his hideous face, pretending to cry.

Tom snorted and mimicked the way that Lelly stuck her hand up to answer a question. He jumped up and down in his seat and made his eyes very wide and eager. He flapped his right arm around in the air like a limp fish. They collapsed with peals of laughter. Olive Hornby screeched with over the top mirth, clutching her sides and collapsing onto her desk.

"That was just so funny!"

Eileen gave Lelly a sideway glance, evidently worried that Lelly was going to start shouting at them in front of the teacher. Lelly, however, just sat in her seat calmly, levitating her quill. Eileen frowned but looked away. A wicked smile crept across Lelly's face as she stroked her wand, staring at Avery and Tom.

"Class dismissed!" Professor Moroney called and a whole class room of chairs scraped as students got up. Lelly threw her books into her satchel and waited for her friends.

"I can't believe that you didn't go off on one when they started teasing you, I was half expecting you to yell at them." Eileen said to her friend.

"I have better things to do than rise to the bait of their idiotic teasing." Lelly explained, tickling Gretchen behind the ear while he purred affectionately.

They turned and left the room.

"What do you have next?"

"Defence against the Dark Arts, remember? I'm in YOUR class!" Eileen replied impatiently.

"Same." Added Abigale.

"Wingardium Levios-**Ar**!" Avery shrieked in a high pitch voice. There was some idiotic sniggering that followed and Lelly rolled her eyes.

"Stuff this!" Lelly shot after them determinedly.

"What are you going to do?" Eileen's nervous voice followed her. With a shared look of concern, her friends went after her.

Lelly simmered with barely controlled anger as she tapped Avery on the shoulder.

He turned towards her, red-faced and sweaty in his jubilation.

"What?" he demanded rudely. He never got an answer because Lelly's fist rammed into his face. He seemed to fall in slow motion and then he was suddenly on the floor, curled in a croissant shape and clutching his broken nose. Blood seeped through his fingers sickeningly and Lelly just stood there, seemingly shocked by what she had just done.

Her left hand closed around her right as she winced in pain.

"Merlin's beard!" she cursed aloud.

Quickly Professor Moroney entered the scene with the deputy head teacher. Their faces turned from shocked to angry as they registered Avery on the floor with his broken nose and Lelly's bleeding fist.

"You Mr Avery and Miss Bellis will be joining me in detention to explain what happened. But for God's sake go to the hospital wing and get yourselves cleaned up!" The deputy head cried, appalled.

Avery rolled around on the floor moaning pathetically.

"Lestrange, could you please help to take Avery to the hospital wing?" Professor Moroney cast a final glare at Lelly before walking away.

Lestrange pulled his friend up off of the floor and he shuffled off, however not before giving Lelly an incredibly rude hand gesture.

Lelly swallowed, evidently feeling guilty about what happened. She tailed them closely, massaging her cut knuckles.

Tom Riddle watched her walk away. His face showed hard cold anger but also hints of something suspiciously like interest. Then the memory twisted and changed, leaving Harry curious and longing for more.

* * *

**Hi it's Randomwriting here. I'm so so so sorry that I haven't updated for ages but I have just gone into year 11 and it's a really busy time and I'm getting so much homework... Argh! Thank you AnnabethEverdeen7dobby for your support. I will hopefully be updating every two weeks now. I have almost finished the story due to my time on the train. Hoped you liked this chapter. Please remember to review so I can get your feedback! ****Anyway...bye for now. xxx**


	6. Chapter 6

A blue haze soon worked its way across Harry Potter's vision as the next memory came. He was bathed in piercing blue and crystal white. He curled in on himself to shield his vision, his eyes stinging. After a while he braved a look through his fingers and saw that he was in Ravenclaw common room. It was dazzlingly bright in there due to the blue colour scheme and the snow drifting lazily past the window. It looked much more cheerful than when he was last in there during the battle of Hogwarts. A large Christmas tree decked in silver and blue baubles stood in the corner of the room, a mountain of colourful presents scattered underneath.

Suddenly, a stampede thundered above him and feet eagerly pounded the stairs. About thirty first years blasted into the room, all roaring with excitement.

"Merry Christmas!" they all yelled and suddenly blue and silver streamers, holly berries and sweets rained from the domed roof. A read head ran by Harry, followed by a curly brown one and a black one. Harry, instinctively, followed.

Lelly lead the way, as always, towards the Christmas tree.

"I hope you like what I've got you; I spent all of my allowance from my parents on them!"

She bent by the tree for a few seconds and then she retrieved two very large, green and glittery presents from under the tree. She read the name tags and then passed them to the correct person.

The paper immediately unravelled and disappeared as Abigale and Myrtle took their presents. They gaped at Lelly.

"I put charms on them so that there was less rubbish for the house elves to clear up afterwards. Professor Moroney helped me, she thought it was a good idea." She explained. Her friends decided not to comment, looking at their presents instead.

Abigale had received a large box of chocolate frogs and a black tub of paste labelled "Madame Beauchene's Unicorn horn hair treatment- for perfect curls every time!" Myrtle, on the other hand, received several 'for sharing' bags of Bertie Blotts Every-Flavour Beans and a black tube of "Madam Beauchene's fragrant Agrimony and Unicorn tail-hair facial cleanser-for amazing and clear skin!" Both of the Madam Beauchene products looked very expensive. Both girls examined their gifts, looking both shocked and very pleased.

"Wow Lell, this… this is just what I wanted. Thank you." Myrtle, for once, seemed almost lost for words. "At last I think these damn spots will be gone for good."

"This costs thirty galleons a tub. I feel so terrible for taking this." Abigale tried to give her hair treatment back, looking very guilty.

"No, keep it Abby. I like giving presents; it makes me happy when people like them." Lelly insisted shaking her head.

Her two friends then retrieved her presents from the tree. Myrtle gave her a packet of liquorice wands and model of a unicorn, which then cantered around her and disappeared from sight. At that, Abigale presented Lelly with a colour changing necklace and a red cat collar with a big, jingling bell attached to it.

Lelly thanked her friends and they then proceeded to open their presents from Hagrid and Eileen. From Eileen they all received boxes of chocolate frogs. However, Lelly also received a small tin of wand polisher "To make your wand really sparkle" and a note from Eileen to not to show this extra gift to the others. From Hagrid, they all received furry purses that could hold twice the amount of coins as its size suggests. The purses were all filled with every flavoured beans and liquorice wands. In short, everybody ended up with a large mountain of sweets.

"I'm going to be obese if I eat all of this." Abigale chuckled as she tucked into a liquorice wand.

"I already am obese." Myrtle said mournfully in a dramatic change in mood. Abigale and Lelly rolled their eyes at each other and laughed.

Lelly was calmly eating her fourth chocolate frog when a yowl emanated from the general area of the Christmas tree. Suddenly a black kitten burst out of the tree, baubles scattering and pine needles flying. Gretchen chased something on the floor, racing in circles around the Ravenclaw common room. He was a lot bigger than when Harry first saw him and he also looked a lot healthier; his black fur plush and his tail thicker.

He finally caught what he was chasing and he emerged from a pile of Christmas paper. He got up, holding something in his mouth, and he approached Lelly. He dropped it in her lap and mewed triumphantly. She looked down and picked the thing out of her lap. It was the unicorn statuette, which was now resigned to trotting calmly round her palm instead of running off. She set it down on the floor, where it lay down panting.

"Thanks Gretchen." She picked up her kitten and hugged him. She sneakily wound the collar round his neck, doing up the catch. When the cat realised what she was doing, he began to wriggle furiously, his teeth bared. His paws batted her arms and neck as he squirmed. She released him and he sprang upwards towards the girl's dormitory, jingling the whole way.

Lelly looked at her friends and they began to laugh.

"Come on, let's find Eileen and Hagrid."

Together, they left the common room, like many others did beforehand. They skipped down the stairs of the tower and they then followed their way round to the Great Hall. Hagrid was waiting with Eileen near the entrance, talking animatedly.

Hagrid was the first to spot the girls approaching them and his chubby face broke into a friendly grin. He enveloped them in a massive hug.

"Merreh Christmas! Did yer like tha' purses I gave yer?" He asked. They all affirmed their pleasure at receiving them.

"Did you enjoy the Madam Beauchene nail treatment Rube?" Lelly asked him teasingly. Hagrid looked down at his now clean and shining nails.

"French beyond all belief." He answered, wiggling his perfects nails at her.

"And the Madam Beauchene shampoo?" Lelly turned to her best friend Eileen. She patted her flowing, non-greasy black hair thoughtfully.

"Very effective," she answered with a smile, "Who would have thought dragon scales would be good for lank and greasy hair?" Her eyes swivelled to look over Lelly's shoulder.

"Oh God, look round." She muttered. They all turned round.

Brutus Malfoy had attached a sprig of mistletoe to his hat and was walking around trying to get girls to kiss him.

"Hello Abby," he said with a slippery grin, approaching her. He had practically congealed his pale blonde hair in gel in a mistaken belief that it was cool to wear your hair slicked back. Abby had to bit the inside of her mouth to stop herself from laughing.

"Get lost Malfoy." She snickered, unable to hold in her mirth any longer.

"Lelly?" Brutus turned to her, "You're not going to punch me if I try to kiss you?" Lelly pushed him away, shaking her head. She was laughing too much to speak.

"Ok then." he turned away and went to join his friend, Barney Broomfield, by the courtyard. Barney was also wearing a hat with mistletoe on it.

"Do you think they're having a competition to see who gets the most kisses?" Eileen mused.

"Sounds like the kind of thing they would do, the bunch of clowns."

"Not sure either of them has got one kiss yet, though I'm sure Abby would have been more willing if it was Barney approaching her." Lelly joked. Abby blushed and looked away from the boys, red in the face.

"Hmm," she murmured, looking at the clock rather than her friends, "It's half an hour until lunch so what should we do?"

"Snow ball fight!" some first years yelled, running outside. Eileen grinned at this.

"There you go; something to do!" With that she followed them outside. Hagrid shrugged and also went out, closely tailed by Lelly, Myrtle and Abigale.

The innocent memories of Christmas were taken away from Harry and he was reluctantly thrown into darkness.

* * *

**Hi, it's Randomwriting98 here. I'm so so so sorry that I haven't updated for ages but year 11 is so hard and I have mocks coming up. I should have updated twice by now but I'll try to update twice today. So yeah... I'm not sure what relevance this chapter has to the story but I thought that it would be nice to see the friends at Christmas. Next chapter I promise is definitely relevant. Oh and to answer your question, Cookie-monster yes I do get the train. I go on the C2C line to Southend to go to school every morning. Anyway, remember to review if you enjoyed or really hated it. Bye for now. **


	7. Chapter 7

"You may pack away now." A voice came ominously out of the blackness.

The world twisted around Harry, murky greys, browns and blacks blending together in a sickening way that made him close his eyes. When he opened them again, he was standing in the dungeon where the potions classes were held. As the Charms classroom and the Ravenclaw common room were, the room was much older fashioned and rustic than when Harry attended Hogwarts. However it was ultimately the same in its air and the way it was set out.

A very tall figure in the back row caught his eye and Harry turned to see Hagrid and his friends. They were all clearly older than in the last memory, his trained eye placing them in third year. Hagrid was about a foot taller than when he last saw him and his hair had grown out into a strangely emo looking hairstyle. His face also looked a lot slimmer, making him almost good looking. Harry had to laugh at that. Eileen's face had also changed with puberty, lengthening a bit so that her long hooked nose so like her son's looked a lot smaller than it was. She had also cut her hair a bit shorter, trimmed to shoulder length, and it was not greasy at all.

Abigale was no longer very short; she had grown to at least five foot six. With her blue eyes, brown curls and pointed chin, she was actually quite pretty. She also seemed to be going out with Hagrid, judging by the adoring looks they were giving each other. The thought of Hagrid going out with anyone struck Harry as odd, but then he remembered Madam Maxime. Myrtle was the least changed; she was still very short and she still had the same bunches as when she was in the first year. However she wasn't anywhere near as plump as before and her acne situation had almost cleared up. Harry searched the room for Lelly but she didn't seem to be there.

Suddenly she appeared from under the table, holding several horned slugs. She seemed to draw herself to her full height for ages, she reached somewhere between Hagrid's elbow and shoulder. Harry gaped; he was sure that if he stood her next to Ron she would be taller. Her waist length hair had darkened to a deeper red than when she was an eleven year old girl and her oval-shaped face seemed even paler. She pushed her hair back from her face before turning to Eileen.

"Did you drop these?" she asked, offering her the slugs.

"Yeah, thanks for getting them." Eileen replied, tucking them into her leather pouch of slugs. Lelly wiped her hand on her robes to remove the slime from the slugs.

"How did your potions go?" she asked, slinging some packets of ingredients into her bag.

"Badly, I doubt my sleeping draught could put an ant to sleep." Abigale peered sadly into her cauldron. Her potion was a murky, sludge colour and was smoking ominously.

"Nonsense." Hagrid said encouragingly. Harry could tell that he was lying but it was sweet to see him trying to cheer up his girlfriend. Hagrid's potion didn't go too well either; his cauldron was in broken pieces on the table.

"How did you get yours that colour?" Eileen looked wistfully at Lelly as she bottled a sample of her lilac, see-through potion. Eileen's potion was whistling in the manner of old-fashioned kettles. She ignored it.

"I don't know, I just followed the the instructions I guess." She took her flask up to the front of the room, to be marked. A tall, handsome, black haired boy went up at the same time. He roughly pushed Lelly out of the way as he put his potion down at the front.

He looked at her smugly. With his dark green eyes, silky black hair and slanted cheekbones, Tom Riddle could make any lesser girl swoon. But Lelayna Bellis was immune, standing defiantly. Hazel eyes glared into his green ones.

"Which innocent first year are your mates going to bully this lunch-time?" she hissed at him as she put her labelled flask in the rack.

"I don't know. Depends who annoys them the most at the time." He replied stiffly.

"Is it fun to persecute people who are younger and more vulnerable than you?" Tom didn't even bother to reply but he narrowed his eyes. He tried to walk off but Lelly roughly grabbed the wrist of his robes. He looked back, simmering with silent anger.

"How do you always somehow get away with it? Do you scare your victims into silence; bully them to not tell on you?"

"Shut up. My friends don't need to answer to you." he growled, teeth gritted. Lelly said nothing more but she didn't let him go.

Instead she stared him down, her eyes travelling across his face. He bristled, seeming to grow taller and more rigid every time her eyes flicked over his face.

Finally, she seemed satisfied and let go of his robes abruptly. He staggered backwards a little before regaining his posture. Harry was left a little quizzical after this encounter. She brushed past Tom and Harry followed her. Looking back, he was sure that he saw Tom close his eyes, trembling slightly.

Lelly re-joined her friends, who immediately wanted to know what the hell happened.

"I was just confronting him about his friend's disgusting behaviour." She explained as she put her cauldron away. Eileen, however, was dissatisfied with this answer and she pulled her away from the group.

"Lelly," she began with a small smirk, "From where I was standing it almost looked as if you had a 'moment' with Tom."

Lelly looked at her incredulously.

"A 'moment'?! Seriously Eileen, ugh. Don't be disgusting, I hate him!" she collapsed laughing.

Tom evidently heard this last past as he walked past them as he turned around with an angry yet strangely hurt look on his face before walking away at double speed. Lelly and her friends left the room soon afterwards.

"You don't really hate him do you?" Eileen whispered, looking concerned, "I think he was actually genuinely offended."

"Hmm," Lelly looked straight ahead thoughtfully, "No I don't, not really. I mean I definitely don't like him but hate is such as strong word. I don't hate anyone."

They went out into the snow, crunching their way through the thin covering that coated the ground. They sat down on a bench in the grounds, which was somehow kept warm and dry.

Eileen and Lelly promptly began transfiguring the steam their breath made into various animal forms while Myrtle, Hagrid and Abigale began discussing OWLs options.

As a large flock of steam birds dissolved, the deputy headmistress was seen to be hurrying towards them, a distressed look on her face.

"I need to speak to you Rubeus. Could you accompany me to the headmaster's office?" She was wearing exactly the same robes that she wore at the sorting all those years ago, "Your friends may come if you wish."

Looking terrified, Hagrid nodded at his friends and they followed the wispy-grey haired witch.

They soon approached the stone gargoyles which protected the entrance to Dippet's office.

"Password?" one of the ugly things asked.

"Merlin's Beard." The witch said quickly and the gargoyles moved aside, waving them in.

The friends exchanged amused glances before following the deputy up the spiral staircase. She knocked on the great wooden door that stood at the top.

"Come in."

They entered the circular room of whirring magic instruments and snoozing portraits of old headmasters and headmistresses.

Professor Dippet sat at the desk, looking old, grey and exceedingly sad. The young, ginger Professor Dumbledore and several other teachers also stood in the room.

"Hello Rubeus." Dippet stood up, offering Hagrid his hand to shake. He didn't take it.

"Why m'I here, Professeh Dippe'?" he asked, looking alarmed.

"Ah this is a…err delicate matter," Dippet answered awkwardly, "Well, your father was found dead this morning. I'm very sorry."

Silence. Every eye in the room turned to Hagrid, who looked as if he had been punched in the stomach. Abigale took his hand but he barely noticed. He was silent for a whole minute as the news sunk in.

"Wa-was he murdered?" he asked hoarsely. Harry wanted to cry.

"No. He died of natural causes."

There was another awkward silence.

"Can I go now Professeh?" Hagrid sounded like he hadn't slept for a thousand years.

"Yes you can Rubeus. Let it sink in for now. We can always talk about where your living arrangements another time. You are excused from your afternoon lessons, all of you."

Hagrid nodded and walked out quickly, practically dragging Abigale, who was still clutching his hand.

He lasted until he got out to the courtyard near divination when he collapsed, sobbing.

Abigale sat beside him and he threw himself at her, crying into her hair. She wound her arms around him to comfort him. The others sat near him too to comfort him.

"I'm alon', firs' meh Mam and now meh Dad. I'm an orphan."

Abigale kissed her boyfriend's forehead before laying her cheek on the top of his head. A single tear trickled down her cheek. Nobody said a word; what could you say that would make time go backwards and make everything better? Instead they showed him that they were there for him.

Soon people began to walk past to get to their next lessons. Many were concerned at the sight of the crying boy but they were too shy to ask what was wrong.

Soon Avery and his stupid friends walked past. They stopped in front of them. Avery had improved over time, his fat face had become slim and angular and his honey blonde hair almost suited him. You could have called him handsome but he was too mean to be described as that. The friends were just as plain and ugly as ever. Tom was very deliberately not looking at Lelly but he was faintly red with restrained anger.

"What's wrong fatso?" Avery asked, "Was you finally told you were obese?"

"I give you and your snivelling, idiotic little mates ten seconds to get out of here before I charm my own knife and spay you all!" Lelly snarled, eyes flashing. They jumped almost out of their skins and scarpered.

"Stupid bitch. It was only a joke!" Harry heard Avery curse as they ran.

"Why are you so insensitive? Couldn't you see he was upset?" Tom Riddle retorted, much to Harry's surprise. They went out of earshot.

"I'm so sorry Hagrid. I'm so sorry." Lelly whispered to him as he dissolved into fresh tears.

At that, the memory dissolved. Harry hoped that he would never see anything that heart breaking ever again.

* * *

**Hi it's this annoying author again. Wow, that was sad to write. I wanted to put this in here because I have never seen any fics of what happened when Hagrid's dad died so here it is...my take on what happened. Again, I'm so sorry for not updating before but I have been so busy. I hope you enjoyed this. Please review as every author needs to find out how to improve in their technique or characters or to find out if anyone actually enjoys your work. So yeah... Oh, I did the Mary Sue litmus test on Lelly and she only got 13 so I am very reassured that she isn't a Mary Sue. Phew... Sorry I was very paranoid about that; it's so easy to write Mary Sues. Anyway, thank you for reading so far. Love, Randomwriting98**


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